St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s hockey team was able to escape November, its most grueling month of the season, with a tie and a pair of victories to salvage a record of 3-5-1 despite dropping four straight conference games in the middle of the 30-day stretch. On a Gustavus team that was plagued with the injury bug early, senior forward Ryan Johnson (Blaine, Minn.) was called upon to do much of the scoring. For his efforts, Johnson has been named the Gustavus Male Student-Athlete of the Month for November.
If playing a nine game month wasn’t enough, Gustavus had to take on three ranked teams within that time. The Gusties defeated then No. 1 ranked St. Norbert 2-1 on Nov. 3 at Don Roberts Ice Rink, were swept by No. 10 St. Thomas, and played No. 8 Amherst to a 2-2 tie in Amherst, Mass.
Johnson turned in his most productive month as a Gustie, tallying a total of nine points on four goals and five assists inside November. Against St. Norbert, the senior scored the unassisted game-winning goal at the 14:24 mark of the third period to allow Gustavus the upset over the defending NCAA Champion.
After recording an assist in the series-opener against Bethel, Johnson and the Gusties were blanked in their next two games. The Blaine native finished the second portion of the month strong with a four-game point-streak that included three goals and four assists. He capped November with a pair of multiple point games, scoring a goal and adding an assist in a 4-2 win over Williams, and scoring another goal to go along with two assists in a 5-0 win over Augsburg.
Ryan Johnson is currently Gustavus’ leading scorer with 10 points on five goals and five assists. His point total ranks sixth in the MIAC while his two game-winning goals are currently tied for the most in the league.
The Gustavus men’s hockey team will close out the 2012 calendar year with a pair of non-conference tests this weekend at Don Roberts Ice Rink. The Gusties will take on Lawrence University on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. and UW-Superior on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.